High Representative Sampaio,
Minister Moratinos,
Esteemed Ministers,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to be reunited with you on this side of the Atlantic.

Since we last met in Rio de Janeiro on the occasion of the Annual Forum, the Alliance has continued to progress steadily. Three basic indicators vividly illustrate this fact.

First, membership in the Group of Friends has continued to expand. The Group has become the international entity with the highest number of members after the United Nations itself. I have no doubt that this trend will persist.

Second, we have finalized the Alliance’s Regional Strategy for the Mediterranean. I attribute particular importance to this development. The Mediterranean basin is not only the cradle of the three Monotheistic religions, it is also home to a number of tensions straining our world. This Strategy, which will help harmony and cooperation in this crucial geography, is, therefore, a most significant step ahead for the Alliance.

Third, I am more than pleased that a Regional Strategy for Latin America is also being formulated. This is another prominent success of the Rio Forum which we expected also to help the Alliance establish a firm foothold in the Western Hemisphere. In our capacity as co-sponsor, we will offer our continued support and contribution to this important process.

Dear Friends of the Alliance,

I wish everything related to the Alliance of Civilizations were so rosy. Yet, the Alliance’s health also depends on our ability to properly detect and diagnose, and then effectively cure the problems it faces. The process has progressed so rapidly that it is, in a way, becoming a victim of its own success.

Interest in and, particularly, expectations from the Alliance continue to grow—and the Alliance is willing to deliver. But, how may the Alliance deliver if it is not endowed with sufficient personnel and finances? To which extent may the selfless and untiring work of the High Representative and the Secretariat compensate the inadequacy in the Alliance’s resources?

In my recent interventions I alluded to the establishment of international economic and political orders following World War II, but how an international cultural order to set the tune had been omitted from the overall scheme, and that the Alliance of Civilizations would serve filling this crucial gap.

The Alliance’s track record more than confirms its capacity to rise to this challenge. But, in order to do this, the Alliance requires tangible support from the Group of Friends.

I, therefore, appeal to all of you to explore your possibilities to provide the Alliance—our Alliance—with the resources it sorely needs.

High Representative Sampaio,
Esteemed Guests,

We need to support the Alliance not for the sake of the Alliance itself. The tensions and trends which led to the launching of this process require urgent and resolute action.

We have all been following the debate surrounding the idea of building a house of worship near the site of the horrific September 11 attacks. The discourse adopted by some in this debate is not encouraging. Just to give another striking example to these negative trends, let me remind you that an international undertaking to assist Gazans in need could be construed as a military target, and attacked as such in utter disregard of international law. Religious, ethnic and gender-based bias are rampant.

Even the prolific Amin Maalouf, which we all know to be optimistic with regard to the conquering of the divides separating people, has set a much more negative title and tone to his most recent work “The Mismatch of the World: When our Civilizations are Exhausted”.

Dear Friends,

It is incumbent upon all of us to undo this trend. This is why we have the Alliance of Civilizations. This is why we are united here today.

As in the saying “I may not be there yet. But I am closer than I was yesterday”, I am sure we will be closer to the Alliance’s goals at the conclusion of this meeting.

And, once we maintain such resolve and perseverance, we will be able to greet one another with an ever stronger sense of accomplishment and success when we meet again in Doha at the next Annual Forum.

Thank you.